CAIRO, July 6 (Xinhua) -- A senior Arab official warned that oil prices
would jump to more than 200 U.S. dollars a barrel if Iran was militarily
attacked, the Egyptian state MENA news agency reported on Sunday.

Secretary General of the Council of Arab Economic Unity (CAEU) Ahmed
Guwaili made the remarks in an interview with Egypt's Arabicdaily Al Gomhuria
published on Sunday.

Guwaili said the Arab world and all the countries in the world would be
affected if Tehran is attacked by military actions.

The United States and Israel have recently stepped up their rhetoric
against Iran and are believed to be preparing the public for a war against the
oil-rich country.

On Saturday, Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari said that no
country will ever dare to carry out an act of aggression against the Islamic
Republic.

"If Israel dares to engage in a military conflict with Iran, itis not clear
what would happen to oil prices," Nozari warned, adding that even empty
anti-Iran rhetoric "pushes oil prices up by10 to 15 dollars."

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hasan
Firouzabadi said on Saturday if the country's interests are jeopardized in the
region, "we will not let any ship pass through the Strait of Hormuz."

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway in the Gulf through which roughly
40 percent of the world oil is transported.